August 26, 2011 at
9:22 AM

File this one under something to pay a little more attention to in the future. While there hasn’t been a lot of fanfare about it, all four of Boston’s top four draft picks from the 2011 draft played for USA Baseball last year. Matt Barnes and Jackie Bradley both played for the Team USA collegiate team in 2010 (as did fourth-rounder Noe Ramirez). Barnes went 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA, Ramirez picked up 5 saves while posting a 2.70 ERA, and Bradley hit .318/.395/.394.

Meanwhile, top picks Blake Swihart and Henry Owens both played for the 18U national team. Swihart was the best hitter on the club, putting up a line of .448/.492/.845 with 5 home runs, and Owens went 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA, striking out 31 batters in 19.1 innings. The most important aspect of playing for Team USA, according to Red Sox scouting director Amiel Sawdaye, is that the players have the chance to prove they can compete against the highest level of competition.

The current Red Sox front office regime is no stranger to using its top picks on former Team USA standouts. Indeed, there is a long list of former Sox picks that played for the national team prior to their selection by Boston in the 2003-2010 timeframe, including Bryce Brentz, Sean Coyle, Garin Cecchini, Chris Hernandez, Kendal Volz, Tim Federowicz, Hunter Morris, Daniel Bard, Seth Garrison, Lars Anderson, Matt LaPorta, Jed Lowrie, Abe Alvarez, and Dustin Pedroia. Additionally, several other players that have been linked to the Red Sox in one way or another have played for Team USA during that span, including Max Stassi, Branden Kline, Jason Esposito, Yasmani Grandal, Pedro Alvarez, Nick Hill, Eric Patterson, Wes Littleton, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Given that, maybe it’s worth taking a glance at the 2011 squads for a look at potential top picks in the 2012 and 2013 drafts.

Here’s the 2011 collegiate squad:

Starters

RHP Brady Rodgers Arizona State So.

RHP DJ Baxendale Arkansas So.

RHP Kevin Gausman LSU Fr.

RHP Michael Wacha Texas A&M So.

RHP Eric Anderson Missouri So.

Bullpen

RHP Mark Appel Stanford So.

RHP Ryne Stanek Arkansas Fr.

RHP/IF Marcus Stroman Duke So.

LHP/1B Brian Johnson Florida So.

RHP Branden Kline Virginia So.

LHP Hoby Milner Texas So.

RHP Andrew Mitchell Texas Christian Fr.

RHP Corey Knebel Texas Fr.

LHP Matt Boyd Oregon St.

LHP Tom Windle Minnesota So.

Lineup

C Tom Murphy Buffalo So.

1B Dominic Ficociello Arkansas Fr.

2B/SS Nolan Fontana Florida So.

3B Matt Reynolds Arkansas So.

SS Deven Marrero Arizona State So.

LF Chris Elder Oral Roberts Sr.

CF Michael Lorenzen Cal State Fullerton Fr.

RF Tyler Naquin Texas A&M So.

DH/IF Erich Weiss Texas Fr.

Bench

C David Lyon Kent State Jr.

C Ronnie Freeman Kennesaw State So.

IF Stephen Yarrow San Francisco Jr.

IF LJ Mazzilli Connecticut Jr.

OF/C Josh Elander Texas Christian So.

OF/3B Brian Ragira Stanford Fr.

Here’s the team’s 2011 stats. The season ran from June 22 to July 8, 2011. According to Perfect Game USA, Marrero, Appel, Wacha, and Stroman are considered the top incoming junior prospects on the team. Here's the 2011 18U National Team roster:

Pitchers

Player, Position, Hometown, School, Graduation Year

Lucas Giolito RHP Santa Monica, Calif. Harvard-Westlake 2012

Walker Weickel RHP Orlando, Fla. Olympia 2012

Hunter Virant LHP Camarillo, Calif. Camarillo 2012

Lucas Sims RHP Lawrenceville, Ga. Brookwood 2012

Clate Schmidt RHP Acworth, Ga. Allatoona 2012

Max Fried LHP Encino, Calif. Montclair Prep 2012

Cody Poteet RHP Bonita, Calif. Christian 2012

Ty Hensley RHP Edmond, Okla. Edmond Santa Fe 2012

Matthew Crownover LHP Ringgold, Ga. Ringgold 2012

Carson Fulmer RHP Lakeland, Fla. All Saints Academy 2012

Troy Conyers LHP Lakeside, Calif. El Capitan 2012

Chase DeJong RHP Long Beach, Calif. Woodrow Wilson 2012

Cole Irvin LHP Anaheim, Calif. Servite 2012

Position Players

Nelson Rodriguez C New York, N.Y. George Washington 2012

Jeremy Martinez C Fountain Valley, Calif. Mater Dei 2013

Chris Okey C Mt. Dora, Fla. Eustis 2013

Gavin Cecchini 2B Lake Charles, La. Barbe 2012

Joey Gallo 3B/RHP Las Vegas, Nev. Bishop Gorman 2012

Rio Ruiz 3B Covina, Calif. Bishop Amat 2012

Alex Bregman SS Albuquerque, N.M. Albuquerque Academy 2012

Addison Russell SS Pace, Fla. Pace 2012

Carson Kelly IF/RHP Portland, Ore. Westview 2012

C.J. Hinojosa IF Spring, Texas Klein Collins 2012

Nick Williams OF Galveston, Texas Galveston Ball 2012

Mikey White IF Hoover, Ala. Spain Park 2012

Jesse Winker OF Windermere, Fla. Olympia 2012

Albert Almora OF Hialeah, Fla. Mater 2012

Mitch Nay OF Chandler, Ariz. Hamilton 2012

Stats for the 2011 18U team are not really available at this time, as the squad has only played in exhibition games to this point. The remainder of the team's season will run from September 9 to October 2. At this early stage, the top class of 2012 prospects on the team, according to Perfect Game USA, are Giolito, Gallo, Williams, Weickel, and Ruiz.